‘JERK!’ House Republican GOES OFF on Kevin McCarthy, Claims Ex-Speaker Pushed Him in Wild Confrontation
Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN) claims former House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) shoved him while his back was turned.
NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales first reported the encounter on X (formerly Twitter), saying it happened when she spoke with Burchett after the GOP’s conference meeting on Tuesday. Burchett was one of the House Republicans who supported the push to oust McCarthy as Speaker, and according to him and Grisales, McCarthy struck at him which led to an intense encounter.
Burchett spoke with CNN’s Manu Raju after the incident, saying Grisales’ account was “very accurate” and that he was “elbowed in the back,” which he described as “a clean shot at the kidneys.”
“I turned back and there was Kevin,” he said. “For a minute, I was kinda ‘What the heck just happened?’ I chased after him.”
As I have stated many times, he’s a bully with $17 million and a security detail. He is the type of guy that when you are a kid, he would throw the rock over the fence and run home hide behind his mama’s skirt… That is not the way we handle things in East Tennessee. If we have a problem with somebody, I’m gonna look ’em in the eye and talk to them.
Burchett continued to describe the encounter, saying it got “a little heated” as McCarthy brushed him off while denying the accusation.
“I raised my voice to him. I thought it was appropriate, and you just don’t expect a guy who was at one time three steps away from the White House to hit you with a sucker punch in the hallway,” Burchett said. He added that the alleged elbowing “still hurts,” though he seemed to suggest that he wasn’t going to file an ethics complaint against McCarthy, nor accuse him of assault.
“He is not worth it. He is going to be gone here after Christmas or next year,” Burchett said. “It’s over as far as I’m concerned.”
While Raju noted that McCarthy has denied intentionally shoving Burchett, the congressman doubted that, saying “There’s 435 congressmen. I was one of eight that voted against him. That hallway, there is plenty of room, and you can walk forward side by side. He chose to do what he did.”
Watch above via CNN.
